The Government must protect poorer consumers from the cost of shifting to low-carbon energy generation, former Environment Agency chair Sir John Harman says in a new Fabian pamphlet published on 28th January.

As reported in the Independent, Harman argues in the The Green Crunch that moving to a secure mix of low or zero-carbon energy sources will mean a higher long-term unit energy price — leaving the state needing to step in against fuel poverty.

He says: “[Firstly] we need to acknowledge that there is, in a civilised society, a right to expect affordable access to warmth, light, and the other benefits which energy delivers and that this can only be protected as prices rise by intervention, either in the energy markets or through the welfare system."

arman argues that Government is failing to communicate to voters on these issues. “The government Chief Scientist may have the ear of the decision-makers but Jeremy Clarkson has the ear of the electorate. Westminster is convinced of the challenge, but the public perception is far less coherent. Politicians must put the environmental facts squarely into the mainstream of electoral politics before voters will really respond.”

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